Burt Reynolds’ 1977 ‘Bandit’ Pontiac Trans Am sells for $450,000

Burt Reynolds has done what they said can’t be done: His 1977 Pontiac Trans Am, like the one from “Smokey and the Bandit,” sold for $450,000 over the weekend in Las Vegas.

That’s well above the $80,000 it was predicted to fetch and, adjusted for inflation, 60% more than the prize Cledus and Bandit were gunning for as reward for running 400 cases of Coors east of the Mississippi to Texarkana.

(That was $72,500 in 1977 dollars, in the form of a Kenworth big rig. Seriously, stream the movie already. Great car chase. Catchy tunes.)

That’s not a shabby take for a ride that, according to Autoblog, wasn’t even in the film. Reynolds’ black muscle car with gold firebird detailing was used as a promotional car before it was signed over to the actor, the site said.

The entire auction of the “Boogie Nights” star’s memorabilia brought in about $2.5 million, according to Fox411, over a two-day period. Online bidding had started more than a week ahead of time, and the car was at $70,000 by Dec. 2, so topping the predicted price was actually extremely likely.

“I am simply selling some of my memorabilia that I have enjoyed for so many years but do not have use nor room for them anymore,” the Oscar nominee told “Entertainment Tonight” on Dec. 2. In other words, don’t presume that the 650-item auction was motivated by the financial woes he’s faced in recent years.

“Quite frankly,” he said, “I am sick of so many pictures of myself in my own home.”

Planning for the sale began almost two years ago, according to Martin Nolan, executive director at Julien’s Auctions of Beverly Hills, which handled the event.

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